


Love is the Tuesdays

by JuniperJupiter



Category: The 100 (TV), The 100 Series - Kass Morgan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Art Teacher Clarke, Background Linctavia - Freeform, Mechanic Bellamy Blake, Neighbors to Friends to Lovers, Single Parents, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:53:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27621661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuniperJupiter/pseuds/JuniperJupiter
Summary: Clarke Griffin moves into the apartment next to Bellamy Blake's and their six-year-old daughters form a fast friendship.  Clarke and Bellamy are both single parents and find ways to support each other, but along the way form a deep friendship and eventually an even more meaningful relationship.  A story about family and finding love when you're not looking for it.Title from "Tuesdays" by Jake Scott.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin
Comments: 33
Kudos: 190





	Love is the Tuesdays

Bellamy felt the breeze blow against his arms and realized he would have to start wearing a jacket soon. It was late September and, though most of the leaves remained green and the sun was high in the sky, there was a crispness in the air that was undeniable.

Of course, as soon as he realized he would need to start wearing a jacket soon, his thoughts went to his daughter’s wardrobe. She would be seven in a few months, but she hadn’t had a big growth spurt since last fall. He suspected that her favorite fleece zip-up would still fit her. He remembered, too, that Octavia had gotten her a matching set of gloves and hat last Christmas that would last for a few years yet. She would need a new winter coat this year, but he had a few months before she needed that. He could keep his eye out for sales.

He checked his phone and let out a yawn. Finally, the large yellow school bus appeared in the distance. It drove slowly down the road, stopping twice to let out kids. A moment later, it turned into the driveway for their apartment complex and came to a halt in front of Bellamy. A red-haired boy got out first, wiping his nose on his sleeve. A couple of other kids followed him, chatting loudly. Bellamy’s smile grew as the last child emerged from the bus: his daughter, Rory. Her dark hair had fallen out of the neat ponytail he had put it up in earlier that morning, something that happened more days than not. Her eyes were bright and her smile wide, showing off the gap where she had lost her first tooth the week before.

“Daddy!” squealed the six-year-old, launching herself into his arms. He gave her a big hug and swung her backpack off of her back and onto his arm.

She turned and waved goodbye to the bus driver, who smiled at her before pulling away from the curb.

“How was your day today?” Bellamy asked her as they walked towards their building.

“So good. Guess what I got on my spelling test?”

“A perfect score?”

“A perfect score.”

“You’re awesome at spelling.”

“I really am.”

Bellamy grinned brightly. The two continued to catch up about their days. They reached the door of their building and Bellamy let Rory use his key to open it. They paused in the vestibule of the building to check their mail. Bellamy unlocked their mailbox and pulled out the small pile, flipping through a catalog, a few pieces of junk mail, and two bills.

Without looking up, he heard the front door of the building open again as other residents arrived.

“Daddy, it’s the princesses!” Rory suddenly announced loudly.

Bellamy instantly looked up and shushed his daughter. Sure enough, a few feet away stood his new neighbor and her daughter, who looked about Rory’s age. The little girl’s hair was blonde like her mother’s and had been pulled neatly into a braid that reached midway down her back. The pair had moved into the apartment next to Bellamy and Rory’s a couple of weeks earlier. The two families hadn’t interacted much yet, but Rory was immensely curious about the new little girl next door.

“The _what_?” the young blonde girl asked, looking at Bellamy suspiciously.

“The princesses,” Rory told her.

“Nevermind,” Bellamy said, trying to usher his daughter further into the building.

The young girl’s mother was smirking now, though, and paused at her own mailbox.

“Why are we princesses?” the mother asked.

“It’s nothing,” Bellamy tried to say, but Rory interrupted him, standing firm and refusing to follow her father.

“My dad calls you princesses because you drive your car to take your daughter to school and pick her up, rather than taking the school bus like the rest of us… what did you call us, Dad? ‘Pleasants?’”

“Peasants,” Bellamy corrected sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and wishing he was anywhere but here. Seriously, he needed to watch what he said in front of this one, even if it was muttered sarcastically under his breath. She repeated _everything_.

The mother was chuckling quietly at Bellamy’s obvious discomfort. Luckily, she didn’t seem too annoyed.

“I don’t want to be a princess,” her daughter announced, sticking her nose in the air. “I like superheroes more. Call me Supergirl instead. Or Batman!”

“This is Madi,” the mother offered helpfully, “and I’m Clarke.”

“What superhero name should we call you?” Bellamy asked, smiling now.

“Oh, I’m not one for superheroes. I’ll stick with ‘Princess,’” she told him with a wink. She retrieved her mail and locked the little metal door back up.

Bellamy introduced himself and Rory and the foursome now headed down the hallway towards the stairwell. Clarke explained that the reason she drove her daughter to and from school was because she actually worked there as an art teacher. Rory hadn’t met her yet because her class didn’t get to take art until the next quarter, but it also turned out that Rory and Madi were both in first grade. Bellamy felt like an idiot for his assumption and he tried to apologize for it, but Clarke just waved him off, unphased.

The parents and daughters walked up to the second floor, the girls chatting animatedly now. At the top of the stairs, they turned right and walked down the short hallway. Bellamy and Rory stopped at their door and Clarke and Madi kept walking the few remaining feet to their own.

“Nice meeting you,” Clarke called, nudging her daughter to repeat the sentiment.

“See you later, Batman,” Bellamy replied, and Madi grinned.

Bellamy entered his apartment with his daughter and closed the door behind him.

Damn, Clarke was pretty. Rory continued to talk a mile a minute about Madi and their plans to have a sleepover that weekend (his daughter moved fast), but Bellamy found he couldn’t focus on what she was saying. All he could picture was Clarke’s soft blonde curls, her sharp blue eyes, and that smile that made his fingertips tingle.

“I like the new neighbors, Daddy,” Rory finally concluded.

“I think I do too,” her father replied, sounding a little dizzy.

* * *

Bellamy and Rory saw a lot more of Clarke and Madi over the next few weeks, or at least Rory and Madi saw a lot of each other. They insisted on sleepovers every weekend and tried to come up with excuses to play together on school nights too. They didn’t really need to, though. Like most parents, Bellamy and Clarke were thrilled for their child to have a playmate to distract them and actively encouraged the play, so long as their homework was done first. They alternated apartments for their play dates so that one parent could get some time off while their daughter was away.

Today was Saturday and the four of them were walking to a nearby playground for the afternoon. It was October now and this seemed to be one of the last remaining warm, sunny days. The girls wanted to take advantage of the weather before being stuck inside all winter, and their parents were totally on board with that.

Bellamy was excited for Rory, knowing how much she valued her new friendship with Madi, but also had to admit that he was looking forward to spending some actual time with Clarke too. Because the girls were at an age where they didn’t need constant supervision when playing together, it felt awkward for him and Clarke to hang out while they played, especially since their apartments were literally next door to each other. It was super convenient for playdates, but not so convenient for flirting with beautiful moms. Today, though, they had the whole afternoon to chat while the girls played.

The girls ran ahead as soon as the colorful slides, swings, and monkey bars came into view. Clarke took a sip of the tea in her thermos and smiled.

“I remember before I had Rory, I thought playgrounds were the most incredible, fun things on the planet. I couldn’t wait to have a kid so I could take them to a playground,” Bellamy told her.

“Let me guess,” Clarke continued, “then you had a kid and realized that playground are actually super boring for adults.”

“Exactly!”

“Same experience here. And it’s painful when you take a kid without a playmate. All of those scenes in movies where the kid plays nicely and the parent gets to sit on a bench with a book? Absolute bullshit.”

“Agreed,” Bellamy replied with a smile. “But today we should be safe.”

Clarke smiled in agreement and pointed to a sunny bench that they could sit on within view of the playground.

They sat down and watched their daughters tear through the park. Madi was determined to go down all of the slides first, while Rory had found some kind of bug by a big green tunnel.

“So how is school?” Bellamy asked.

“October is fun,” Clarke responded with a grin. “Lots of craft ideas. My fifth-graders are making ceramic pumpkins, though the first-graders are just making theirs out of paper mache. That reminds me – I never asked. What do you do?”

“I’m a mechanic at Rover’s,” Bellamy explained, rubbing the back of his neck. “I started working there when I was sixteen and never really left. It’s not the most glamorous job, but the pay is decent and my boss is fair. I like working with my hands, too.”

“Rover’s…” Clarke wondered aloud, “why does that sound familiar? Wait, wait, is that where Zeke works?”

“Zeke?” Bellamy asked, confused. “Wait, Zeke Shaw? We just call him Shaw at work.”

“Yes, Zeke Shaw!” Clarke confirmed with a smile. “My best friend Raven has been dating him for a few months.”

“I’ve met Raven – she’s stopped by a few times to have lunch with Shaw. She seems pretty cool.”

“She’s the best. We’ve been friends since freshman year of college, when we discovered that we were dating the same guy.”

Bellamy chuckled. “Where did you go to school?”

“Arkadia. Pre-med until my senior year when I decided to totally shift gears and turn my art minor into a major instead. My mother wasn’t thrilled.”

“I bet,” Bellamy replied with a smirk.

“How about you?”

“I never went to college,” Bellamy explained. “My mother passed away when I was in high school and I had a little sister to take care of, so it just wasn’t in the cards for me. Rory is actually named after my mother, Aurora.”

“That’s beautiful,” Clarke told him. “What would you have studied if you had gone to school?” Bellamy liked that she didn’t try to express a ton of sympathy or motivate him to try to go to school now – she just met him where he was.

“Probably history. My sister Octavia always makes fun of me for how many books I own.”

“I caught a glimpse of your bookshelves when I was dropping Madi off the other day – I was wondering what that was about.”

They continued to chat about their jobs and families. Bellamy explained that his sister still lived in town, but that she had started a new job this year that required her to travel a lot, so he and Rory didn’t get to see her too often. Clarke was an only child, but her mother lived a few hours away.

“Close enough to visit without flying, but far enough away that we don’t have to see each other every week,” Clarke told him with a smirk.

A shriek from one of the girls grabbed their attention, but they were pleased to see that it was a squeal of excitement, not panic. Rory had just crossed the entire length of the monkey bars and Madi was clapping for her.

“Can I ask,” Clarke began delicately, “what the story is with Rory’s mom?”

Bellamy nodded.

“Her name’s Roma. We had been dating for a few months when we found out she was pregnant. I proposed, she said yes, and I thought it was all gonna work out. I guess she felt differently. When Rory was a few months old, Roma told me she just couldn’t do it anymore. She loved Rory, but hated being a mother, if that makes sense. And it was pretty clear that she and I were far from compatible. Anyway, she gave me full custody and moved away. We try to stay in touch a couple of times per year, but Rory has never seen or spoken to her. I don’t want to confuse her, you know?”

Clarke nodded in agreement.

“What about Madi’s dad?” he asked with similar tact.

“One-night stand that didn’t pan out,” Clarke replied with a smirk. “I had just graduated from college and was celebrating landing my first teaching gig. My mom and I had fought all year about my decision not to go to medical school. She had predicted that I wouldn’t be able to find a job, so when I did, I felt invincible. I decided to celebrate my success as a responsible adult by making a very irresponsible choice.” She was laughing at this point, so Bellamy could tell it wasn’t a painful memory.

“Did you tell him?”

“I did. Took me some time to get his name and contact info, but I told him that I was pregnant and that I was keeping it. I’m incredibly pro-choice, but a voice in my head was just telling me that this was the right choice for me. As soon as I saw the positive test, the only thing I felt was excitement. I had spent the whole year learning to follow my gut, and this felt like the pay-off. Madi’s the pay-off,” she finished, looking at her daughter with a soft smile.

Bellamy grinned back.

“He wasn’t interested in being a father and was relieved when I asked for full custody. I haven’t spoken to him since I was pregnant. I don’t know if he even knows Madi’s name.”

The two were quiet for a moment, watching their daughters and thinking over the stories they had just shared.

“It’s kind of nice, having someone else who gets it,” Bellamy said quietly after a minute.

Clarke knocked her shoulder against his and smiled. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“What’s the hardest part for you?” Bellamy asked.

Clarke thought for a moment. “I think it’s the pressure of making every decision all by myself. The big things, like whether we should ask the dentist about braces, but the small things too, like how much screen time I should let her have. It’s just hard being all on my own for all of those things – it gets exhausting sometimes.”

“I definitely know what you mean.”

“What’s the hardest part for you?” Clarke asked.

“Probably feeling like I have to be both a mother and a father to her, which I think I feel more acutely because she’s a girl. I know that gender roles are bullshit and I’m happy to curl Rory’s hair when she’s in the mood or show her how to use the power tools at the garage, but there are a few things I just haven’t been able to master. Nails are our latest one.”

“What?”

“Rory desperately wants painted nails, but she lacks the dexterity to do it herself. I can do hair, coordinate outfits, all of that, but my giant fingers are terrible at painting nails.

Clarke fluttered her painted fingernails in front of his face, teasingly.

“Oh, rub it in,” he told her with a fake grimace.

“I’m happy to paint Rory’s nails,” she told him, and he felt his heart flutter stupidly at that.

“Really?” he asked.

“Of course! We can make a whole thing of it. Maybe Monday after school?” she suggested.

“We can’t do Monday,” he told her. “On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I take Rory over to the garage after school for a few hours. I always have to cut my shifts short to get her from the bus, so that’s how I make up my hours. She does her homework in the waiting room while I work for a few more hours.”

Clarke wrinkled her nose. “What does she think of that?”

“She hates it,” he told her honestly with a laugh. “But she’s a good sport and there’s a television, so it could be worse.”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “This is so dumb. I literally teach at your daughter’s school and live right next door. From now on, I’m taking her home on those days and she can hang out at my apartment for a few hours. The girls can even do their homework together.”

“You really don’t have to do that,” Bellamy protested.

“It’s so much simpler that way! Plus, then you wouldn’t have to lose time driving home to get her and back.”

“It would save me almost an hour on those days,” he admitted.

“Then we’re doing it,” she told him firmly.

“I can try to pay you,” Bellamy suggested.

“Not a chance,” she fired back. “We’re neighbors. I’m sure I’ll need to borrow a cup of flour or something at some point.”

“Sure, because that’s the same as providing hours of childcare each week,” he retorted with an eye roll.

“Better be really good flour,” she told him with a smirk.

Madi called Clarke over before Bellamy could protest further. Soon both parents were needed to judge who was swinging higher. Bellamy and Clarke declared it a tie (of course) and the decision that they made to keep their daughters from getting mad at them had the exact opposite effect (also, of course).

As penance, the parents agreed to their own swing competition. Clarke laughed at how seriously Bellamy took the contest, pumping his legs and pulling at the metal chains to swing himself higher and higher. She conceded defeat when it was clear she would never swing as high as him, but impressed everyone with her leap off of the swing when it was still high in the air.

“When can I try that?” her daughter asked with obvious envy.

“Sometime when I have the car handy to drive you to the emergency room, Clarke replied.

“Same goes for you,” Bellamy told Rory.

The girls played for a while longer before the four of them headed back to their apartment building.

“Ugh, now to start dinner-planning,” Clarke groaned, stretching her arms overhead. “Kids would be so much easier if you didn’t have to feed them. Why do we have to eat three times per day?”

“I don’t know, but I know I wouldn’t mind it nearly as much if Rory wasn’t so picky.”

“Yours is picky too?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“I keep hoping Madi will grow out of it. I guess there’s still hope.”

“In the meantime, what do you think about splitting a pizza?” Bellamy suggested. Clarke’s face lit up in a grin and he had his answer.

* * *

The following Monday, Bellamy knocked on Clarke’s door at 6:30, having just gotten home from work.

“Come in!” he heard called from inside, and he followed the instructions and let himself in.

He immediately saw why they had left the door unlocked. Clarke, Rory, and Madi were bent over Clarke’s dining room table surrounded by tiny bottles of nail polish. Clarke was painting Madi’s nails carefully, while Rory was sitting with her fingers spread, the nails clearly still wet.

“Look, Daddy!” Rory called, carefully holding her hands up for her father to see. Her nails were a pretty lavender color and it looked like Clarke was painting Madi’s in the same shade.

“Beautiful!” Bellamy replied with a genuine smile. He took his shoes off and walked into the combined living room/dining room to better examine the finished product.

“Can’t talk, have to focus,” Clarke told him sharply. He chuckled at her perfectionism, but couldn’t deny the result – his daughter looked like she had had a professional manicure.

“She takes this very seriously,” Madi told him.

Bellamy asked the girls about their days while Clarke finished up with Madi’s left hand. After a couple of minutes, she pronounced them done. Madi shifted her hands carefully, making sure to keep the nails from catching on anything.

“Rory, yours should be dry by now,” Clarke told her. She tested a tip to confirm and nodded.

“Thank you so much, Clarke!” Rory told her sincerely. Clarke gave her a big smile and told her it was no problem.

Rory started to gather her backpack, lunch box, and coat.

“The girls did all of their homework together too – the nails were their reward for that,” Clarke told Bellamy.

“I don’t know how to thank you for this,” he told her, but she merely waved her arm at him. 

“It was the first time in a month I didn’t have to fight Madi to do her homework. Trust me, it wasn’t a problem!”

Bellamy laughed and thanked Clarke again before leading Rory home for dinner.

Over the next few weeks, they fell into their new routine. Rory rode home with Clarke and Madi on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and stayed at their apartment until Bellamy got home from work. Most days, the girls had completed their homework by the time he picked up Rory. A couple of times, though, Clarke had told him that they had all thought of something more fun to do, like jumping in the big leaf pile behind their building or learning a dance from a youtube video. He could tell she only did this on days when the girls only had a little bit of homework that would be easy to complete before bed, but judging by the looks on their faces, they thought it was the grandest treat anyone had ever been given.

His life was so much easier with the new schedule. He wasn’t burning gas driving to and from his apartment extra times. He didn’t have to work past dinner while trying to keep an eye on Madi in the waiting room. He didn’t have to listen to her whine about doing her homework in the uncomfortable plastic chairs. And he got to see Clarke’s beaming smile at least three days per week, which didn’t hurt.

He was trying to think of a way to thank Clarke for watching Rory so often. She steadfastly refused to accept any kind of payment, and he understood her there – as soon as money was exchanged, their friendship would start to feel awkward. Still, there had to be something he could do for her.

One Friday, he came up with an idea. He worked through lunch so that he could leave a bit early and he used the time to swing by the grocery store for ingredients. When he arrived at Clarke’s apartment to pick up his daughter, he told her to forget about cooking and just come over to his apartment in thirty minutes.

“What is this all about?” Clarke asked.

“You’ve watched my daughter three days per week for nearly a month now. I at least owe you dinner,” he told her with a smirk.

“Will you let me do the dishes?” she asked.

“Not a chance.”

“I’m in,” she replied, grinning. “I’ll see you in thirty.”

When Clarke and Madi knocked on their door half an hour later, Rory greeted them with a huge grin.

“Welcome to dinner!” she shouted excitedly. Clarke could smell pasta and tomato sauce and smiled when she saw Bellamy pulling a tray of chicken parm from the oven.

“Chicken parm – one dinner no child can say no to,” he told her. Clarke instantly felt a wave of relief because, yes, that was something Madi would eat and she wouldn’t have to worry about her daughter appearing rude.

Bellamy was, as it turned out, an excellent cook. He and Clarke even opened a bottle of wine to celebrate the weekend. Madi and Rory were on cloud nine eating dinner together and Clarke enjoyed the lack of a battle over dinner for one blessed evening.

She tried to insist on doing the dishes after dinner, but Bellamy only topped off her wine and sent her out of the kitchen.

“Go relax,” he told her, “you haven’t had any time off all week.”

“Thank you,” she told him sincerely. She carried her glass carefully into the living room before sitting down on one end of the couch. The girls were working on a puzzle together, giggling as they tried to force pieces together that clearly didn’t fit.

Bellamy peered over his shoulder at the girls. Clarke didn’t usually stay when they played, but he liked having her here.

When everything was clean, he quietly asked Clarke if she had any plans for the rest of the evening (she didn’t) before proposing a movie night. Clarke appreciated that he had asked her first, because once they announced the idea to the girls, there was no way she could have said no.

The four of them spread out on the sofa and comfy chairs to watch _The Wizard of Oz_. Bellamy and Clarke sipped their wine and worked together to complete the Friday crossword on Clarke’s phone – she had told him weeks earlier that the _New York Times_ Crossword Subscription was her annual Christmas gift from her mother and her daily addiction. Madi was scared of the witch, but Bellamy could tell she was doing her best not to show it.

“I think she’s kind of scary too,” Rory whispered quietly. Madi sent her a grateful smile.

It was a perfect evening and it started a new tradition. Every Friday, Bellamy cooked dinner and they had a movie or game night afterwards.

* * *

October turned into November and the weather got colder. It started to snow, coating their world in light and softness. By January, everyone would be over the snow and ready for it to melt, but there was something about November snow that couldn’t help but make your heart feel a little warmer.

“We should take the girls out sledding this weekend,” Bellamy told Clarke one Friday evening. The girls were totally absorbed in _Trolls: World Tour_.

“I guess,” Clarke said with a groan.

“What’s that all about?”

“I’m a winter grump.” She hid behind her wine glass.

Bellamy laughed. “Seriously? I love the snow. I look forward to this all year.”

“Ok, I have an idea,” Clarke announced. “You take the girls sledding tomorrow and I’ll stay home and make a big pot of chili for dinner – let it cook all afternoon.”

“You would do all of that just to get out of sledding?”

“I would genuinely prefer dental surgery to sledding.”

“You are the weirdest person.”

“You taking the deal, Blake?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Absolutely,” he told her with a grin. “But can I request cornbread too?”

Clarke narrowed her eyes at him. “What kind of a monster would make chili without cornbread?”

He grinned and noticed that a lock of Clarke’s hair had fallen loose from her messy bun. Without thinking, he reached over and tucked it behind her ear. She smiled softly at him.

He felt his face turning pink and quickly took a sip of his wine.

“It’s almost time for the big Hickory reveal,” he told her.

“You’ve seen this movie too many times,” she replied, elbowing him with a smile.

* * *

The girls were overjoyed to learn of the plans for the following day. Madi was practically bouncing off the walls all morning, even though they weren’t leaving until after lunch. She was in such a good mood that she even helped Clarke put away their clean clothes and straighten up the house.

After lunch, Bellamy stopped by to pick up Madi. She was skipping around the apartment in her winter gear and clutched her sled eagerly. Clarke had retrieved it from their basement storage unit that morning.

“Ready to go?” Bellamy asked.

“Yup!” Madi answered before running to meet Rory out in the hall.

“We should be back around 5,” Bellamy called to Clarke, “and I’ll have my phone on in case you need to reach us.”

“Have fun!” Clarke told him, waving goodbye to her daughter and Rory.

Bellamy drove the girls to his favorite sledding hill at the back end of the park near their apartment complex. They spent the afternoon sliding down the hill on their sleds before racing back up again. Bellamy had packed thermoses of hot chocolate and some snacks, which kept everyone in high spirts.

When they got back to the apartment building, Bellamy could smell the chili cooking from the stairwell. It smelled incredible, and he instantly felt grateful that he was one of the people who would get to enjoy it soon.

The girls and Bellamy had all worked up quite a sweat while running up and down the hill all afternoon, so showers were definitely in order before dinner. Around 6:00, they gathered back in Clarke’s apartment to gorge on the chili and cornbread. Madi picked out the beans. Rory picked out the meat. Clarke rolled her eyes and tried not to take it too personally.

“This was a perfect day,” Rory announced with a smile, and Madi agreed with her.

“Can we please have a sleepover? _Please_?” Madi pleaded with her mother.

“Sounds good to me,” she replied, turning to Bellamy for approval.

“No qualms here, but you guys will need to do it here, because I’m going to be asleep by 8:30 after that afternoon and the bucket of chili I just inhaled.”

The girls squealed with delight and Clarke smiled at him.

They cleaned up together after dinner while the girls set up a fort in Madi’s room for their sleepover.

“Thank you for today,” Clarke told him as she washed dishes and he dried. “Madi loves playing outside in the snow and I’m just so not into it.”

“Thank you for cooking dinner – I can’t tell you what it felt like to come home tired and cold and smell that chili from the hallway.”

“Is this what normal parents feel like?” Clarke asked with a giggle.

“What do you mean?” Bellamy replied, not getting it.

“Ok, so ‘normal’ was the wrong choice of words, but I mean parents that don’t have to do it all themselves – who have partners. I feel like I’m constantly being pulled in so many directions at once. It’s nice to actually have someone to split the work with.”

Bellamy thought for a moment. “Yeah, if it was just me, I would have had to play with Rory all afternoon, _then_ come home and figure out dinner, start it, cook everything, etc. It would have been completely exhausting.”

“You would have done it, though, for her. You’re a great dad, Bellamy.”

“And you’re a great mom, even if you are a winter grump,” he told her, swishing some soap bubbles off of her nose.

“It’s a good thing we have each other, then,” she said quietly.

“I couldn’t agree more.”

* * *

“I don’t see why we can’t just have Thanksgiving here,” Rory announced for the third time that morning. Bellamy ignored her and continued packing clothes into her small suitcase.

“I’m not going to see Madi for _five days!_ Five days, Dad! This isn’t fair!”

“You see Madi nearly every day, Rory. Five days aren’t going to kill you. Now, please help me pick out clothes for you to wear this week.” He held up a purple sweater that he was pretty sure was her favorite, but she made a noise of disgust deep in her throat and he put it back in the drawer.

Bellamy and Rory were joining Octavia for Thanksgiving at Lincoln’s parents’ house. Octavia and Lincoln had been together for three years now and Lincoln’s parents loved Octavia, Bellamy, and especially Madi. They lived in a cabin along a lake a few hours away and Bellamy loved visiting there for the stillness and quiet.

Clarke and Madi were doing Thanksgiving at Clarke’s mother’s house and spending a few days there. The separation was, apparently, traumatic.

Bellamy’s phone dinged with a text message and he took a break from packing to check it.

_Clarke: Is your daughter being as whiney as mine?_

He smiled brightly and started typing.

_Bellamy: I guarantee mine’s worse. Aren’t kids supposed to look forward to Thanksgiving?_

_Clarke: Madi just accused me of, and I quote, “throwing away her dearest friendship.”_

_Bellamy: You’re a monster._

_Clarke: Apparently._

He laughed and replaced his phone in his pocket before packing the rest of Rory’s clothes into her bag. Now came the hard part.

He held up a small duffle bag and braced himself. “You can pack whatever toys you can fit in here,” he told her.

“What?!” she shrieked. “That’s tiny! That won’t even hold all of my stuffed animals!”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t pack all of your stuffed animals,” he replied. Rory huffed around, muttering about how her father was ruining her life. Bellamy’s phone dinged again.

_Clarke: I don’t mean to alarm you, but I’m pretty sure I just heard the scream of someone being murdered coming from your apartment._

_Bellamy: I just showed Rory the size of the bag she can pack her toys in._

_Clarke: Now who’s the monster?_

Somehow, he managed to get Rory out the door and into the car an hour later. He realized on the drive that he had forgotten to pack their toothbrushes and shower stuff, but a short stop at a drugstore fixed that problem.

Rory’s mood fortunately improved when they got to the cabin. She loved Octavia, Lincoln, and Lincoln’s parents and preened under their attention.

The week went well and Bellamy enjoyed the time with his family. On their first night there, Lincoln took him aside to have a conversation Bellamy had been anticipating for nearly a year. Before Lincoln could even ask, Bellamy assured him that he knew Lincoln loved his sister and that he had whatever blessing Bellamy could offer for a proposal. Lincoln went from a ball of nerves to smiling so hard he was nearly crying in under a minute.

He waited until Thanksgiving Day to propose. It was tradition in his house for everyone to go around the table and say what they were thankful for. Octavia was thankful for family, Lincoln, and her new job. Bellamy was thankful for Rory. Rory was thankful for Madi (and her family, she added as an afterthought). Lincoln’s mother was grateful that they all had this time together and that her husband’s new heart medication was working well. Lincoln’s father echoed his wife and also added that he was thankful for the good weather they had enjoyed that week.

Finally, when it was Lincoln’s turn, he took a deep breath before turning to his girlfriend.

“I am thankful for everyone here, but this year, I’m especially thankful for you, Octavia. You have made the last three years the best three of my life. Every minute I’m with you, I just feel alive. You understand me better than anyone ever has and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, falling more in love every day.”

With that, he sunk to one knee and Octavia and Rory let out matching squeals of excitement.

“Octavia Blake, will you marry me?” he asked. Octavia choked out a yes (obviously) between gasps and tears and Lincoln gathered her into his arms before slipping the ring onto her finger.

Rory turned to her father, overcome with emotion, and buried her head in his chest. He held her tightly and rubbed her back.

“You ok?” he asked.

“Best thanksgiving ever,” she replied.

He had to agree.

He and Clarke texted nearly the whole week, too. Octavia noticed it on their second day there.

“Who are you texting so often? Tell me they’re not harassing you at work.”

“No, it’s my neighbor, Clarke.”

“The one with the daughter?” Octavia asked. Of course, he and Clarke and their daughters had been spending so much time together that Octavia had heard about her a few times by now.

“Yeah.”

“Is she asking a homework question or something?” Octavia asked, confused.

Bellamy rubbed the back of his neck and avoided eye contact. “No,” he told her honestly.

Suddenly, Octavia’s eyes deepened with understanding.

“You _like_ her,” she accused.

“She’s my friend, O. We see each other a lot.” (He didn’t tell Octavia that they saw each other nearly every day, letting the girls play together and watching Netflix in the evening. He didn’t tell her that Clarke was quickly becoming his favorite person to talk to, nor that he looked forward to their evening conversations all day. He _definitely_ didn’t tell her that he had nearly lost his mind the previous week when Rory insisted on a game of Twister and Clarke fell into his lap trying to reach for a green circle.)

“Uh huh,” Octavia replied, unconvinced. “Is she pretty?”

“She’s fucking gorgeous,” Bellamy replied without thinking. He quickly tried to cover it up. “Not that it matters. She’s just, you know, objectively pretty.”

Octavia said nothing, but her smirk spoke volumes.

“Oh, shut up,” he told her.

She cackled.

* * *

Because they had so evilly separated their daughters over Thanksgiving, Clarke and Bellamy set up a leftover cooking competition when they got back. Clarke’s creation was a play on chicken and waffles. She put the leftover stuffing in a waffle iron and then piled the stuffing waffle high with turkey, cranberry sauce, and gravy.

Bellamy went for a shepherd’s pie approach, layering mashed potatoes with turkey, gravy, and vegetables. The girls liked both, but Bellamy had made the mistake of including leftover brussels sprouts, so Clarke was the clear winner.

“Those brussels sprouts were delicious!” Bellamy called bitterly from the kitchen as he did the dishes – his punishment for losing to Clarke, who sat in the living room relaxing with a mug of tea while the girls caught up and played together.

“Brussels sprouts are an abomination!” Madi called back.

“Who taught her the word ‘abomination’?” Bellamy called back.

“My mother’s new boyfriend, Marcus,” Clarke told him. Sick of shouting back and forth, she carried her tea back into the kitchen and chatted as he washed the dishes.

“This wasn’t fair and you know it,” he told her, pointing a dirty wooden spoon at her for emphasis.

Clarke held her hands in the air. “Hey, I’m not the one that tried to add green vegetables when those two were the judges. It’s just basic strategy.”

Bellamy rolled his eyes.

After a minute of scrubbing, he turned back to Clarke.

“So how is that situation with your mother’s new boyfriend?”

“Weird,” Clarke answered honestly. “I don’t think she’s dated anyone seriously since my father died twelve years ago. But she seems happy, and Marcus seems like a nice man.”

“That’s good. What did Madi think of him?”

“She liked him. She likes the idea of having a grandpa. And Marcus is good with her, too.”

“Rory treats Lincoln’s parents like they’re her grandparents. Luckily, they’re over the moon for her, so they don’t mind.”

Clarke smiled. “When are Octavia and Lincoln thinking for the wedding?” He had told her, of course, about the proposal.

“They’re not in a rush, but probably next summer sometime. Octavia has never been one for patience,” he told her with a smirk.

“Will you walk her down the aisle?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Will you bawl like a baby?”

“Undoubtedly.”

* * *

One Friday evening in December, Bellamy was teaching Rory checkers when his phone rang. He saw it was Clarke calling and instantly got a bad feeling in his gut. They had skipped their usual movie night because Clarke had promised Madi a trip to the store to pick out new snowboots and she had a coupon that expired that day. The girls didn’t protest: they spent nearly every evening together, anyway. Clarke hardly ever called him, and never casually. He answered immediately.

“Clarke?”

“Bellamy,” she began, and he could hear the panic in her voice.

“What’s wrong? Where are you?”

“Madi and I were on our way home from the store when my car broke down. I don’t know what happened – one minute it was totally normal and the next minute all of these lights were flashing and the car was making these banging noises and I just pulled over and turned it off.”

“That’s exactly what you should have done. Is there any smoke coming from under the hood?”

“I don’t think so, but it’s hard to see in the dark,” she told him. “I did notice that my temperature gauge was getting hotter and hotter before I pulled over.”

“Is the car still making any noise?”

“No, it’s silent now.”

Bellamy could hear Madi starting to fuss in the backseat. In his own apartment, Rory was watching him with wide eyes. Bellamy took a second to think and plan. Clarke was the planner, but he knew how hard it was to think in situations like this. If he could help out and do that for her, he wanted to.

“Ok, here is what we are going to do,” he told her. “Tell me where you are and Rory and I will come pick you both up right now. You’re not going to like this part, but I need you both to get out of the car and move away from it. It doesn’t sound like it’s going to catch fire, but we can’t take any chances. I know it’s cold, but-”

“We have a blanket in the back,” Clarke interrupted, “we’ll be fine.”

“Good girl,” he praised without even thinking. “Let me call Shaw and have him tow your car to Rover’s. Tell me where you are and I’ll call him on the way. I’ll get to you as quickly as I can.”

She explained where she was and Bellamy noted that that was only fifteen minutes away, twenty tops. He and Rory rushed to put their boots and coats on. On the way out the door, Rory grabbed a stuffed animal, explaining that Madi might be scared. Bellamy was touched at how thoughtful she was.

They rushed to their car and Bellamy called Shaw, explaining the situation. Raven was with him at his apartment and insisted on coming along as well. Bellamy thought that might help to calm Clarke down, so he didn’t protest.

Eighteen minutes after getting off the phone with Clarke, Bellamy was getting close to where her car should be. He slowed down, remembering that Clarke and Madi were standing a little away from the car. It was snowing now and he knew they must be freezing.

“There’s the car!” Rory shouted from the backseat, pointing, but of course Bellamy had already seen it. He pulled over behind Clarke’s car, told Rory to stay inside the vehicle, and raced out into the snow, calling for Clarke.

Clarke and Madi came running to him and he pulled them both into a hug, making sure to stay on the thankfully-wide shoulder and away from the road.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Clarke muttered into his ear. “I’m sorry to drag you out to deal with this – I just didn’t know who else to call.”

Bellamy’s left hand circled the back of her neck and he gently guided her forehead to his, keeping his other arm secure around Madi as she clung to him.

“I always want you to call me for stuff like this,” he whispered to her. “I always want to be here for you.”

Clarke took a deep breath and Bellamy could tell she was trying not to cry. He led them to his car and opened the backdoor for Madi. Rory had already unbuckled herself and she wrapped her friend in a big hug. Bellamy took the blanket Clarke and Madi had been using, now damp with the snow, and shook it out before putting it in his trunk and pulling out his own spare blanket. He gave the fresh one to Madi and Rory and told them to snuggle up and stay warm while they waited for the tow truck. He shut the door securely to keep the warm air in.

Bellamy turned to Clarke, who now stood with her hands in her pockets, looking at her car.

“You should get inside the car too – you must be freezing.”

“I’m ok,” she said, but he could tell she was shivering.

“Shaw is on his way and Raven insisted on coming too, so they should be here soon. We can both wait in my car until they get here.”

He started to move towards his door, but Clarke remained still.

“I just need a minute,” she said quietly.

Bellamy walked up to her and wrapped his arm around her back, rubbing her arm gently.

“I was so scared,” she whispered, and he barely heard her over the wind and the sounds of cars buzzing by.

“I would have been terrified too,” he told her. She snorted in disbelief, but he stayed firm. “Even being a mechanic, you never know what’s happening when all of those lights flash, and it happening when your daughter’s in the backseat and it’s dark and snowing? That’s scary for anyone, Clarke.”

She nodded now, blinking back tears.

“It’s ok now. We’re going to tow your car to Rover’s and figure out what’s wrong with it. I’ll take you both home and we’ll make hot chocolate. Everything is going to be ok.” Today was Friday, so if Bellamy could get her car working over the weekend, she would be fine to drive to work on Monday and wouldn’t have to deal with the expense or hassle of a rental car.

He finally convinced Clarke to come back to his car with him. They moved the boots she had purchased for Madi to his trunk and gathered anything else she needed from her car. He had left his car running, so it was still warm inside, and the four of them huddled and listened to the _Moana_ soundtrack as they waited for the tow truck to appear.

Finally, after twenty minutes of waiting, Bellamy saw the familiar lights of the Rover’s tow truck. Shaw made quick work of hooking up Clarke’s car and Bellamy helped. Raven took his place in the car and entertained Clarke and the girls.

“Where do you want me to put it when I get to Rover’s?” Shaw asked Bellamy.

“Set it in Bay 2. I’m going to work on it tomorrow.”

“You’re off tomorrow,” Shaw protested.

“Clarke’s family. I’m fixing her car tomorrow. And I’m not charging her anything.”

“Boss isn’t going to like that.”

“I’ll pay for any parts myself. You have no idea how much she has done for me and Rory. It’s the least I can do.”

Shaw nodded and clapped him on the back before climbing into the truck. Raven said her goodbyes to Clarke, Madi, and Rory before running back to the tow truck to join her boyfriend.

Bellamy drove the group home carefully, knowing that even a small skid in the snow would be enough to panic Clarke right now. When they got back to the building, they all four went back to Bellamy’s apartment, where he promised to make them all hot chocolate. He made eye contact with Clarke before slipping a little whiskey into hers and she smiled gratefully at him.

“Thought you might want to take some of the edge off,” he whispered to her.

“You have no idea.”

“Drink as much as you want – I can watch the girls tonight and they can have a sleepover here.”

Clarke thought about this but decided against it, knowing that Madi might have trouble sleeping after their adventures this evening. It was already close to bedtime, but Bellamy and Clarke agreed that the girls could stay up a little later than usual and watch part of a movie, especially since the next day was Saturday. Bellamy and Clarke sat on the couch, while the girls sat on the floor closer to the television.

“Are you doing anything tomorrow?” Bellamy asked her when the girls were distracted by the characters on the screen.

“No firm plans. Why?”

“Could you watch Rory for the day?”

“Of course,” Clarke answered automatically, though she looked confused. He normally took the girls to play outside for at least part of the day on Saturdays. “Why?”

“I’m going to fix your car tomorrow.”

Clarke immediately began to protest, but Bellamy shut her down quickly.

“You have helped me out for months. You have watched my daughter for countless hours and you’ve been such an incredible support for her. And I don’t know if I could have even kept my job without you watching her in the afternoons. Trust me when I tell you I owe you this.”

Clarke still looked skeptical.

“And I want to,” he said softly. “You’re my friend and I want to help you.” He knew how much a repair of this magnitude would cost, and he had a good guess of what an elementary school art teacher made. He knew the financial struggles of being a single parent. He also knew Clarke could ask her mother for money, but that she’d be loathe to do it, and if he could help her avoid that situation, he wanted to do that.

Clarke’s eyes began to well with tears. Bellamy snuck a glance at the girls to make sure they were still watching the screen before putting his arm around Clarke and pulling her into his chest.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” she whispered to him.

“Welcome to my world,” he replied. He heard her chuckle against his chest and he ran his hand up and down her back, calming her down. When Clarke was feeling better, she sat up, but didn’t move back to her original position. She kept her side pressed against Bellamy’s, her head leaning back into his shoulder. He kept his arm around her, his fingers tracing lazy patterns into her arm.

They watched for another thirty minutes, but the girls were clearly falling asleep (despite their protests to the contrary), so Clarke took Madi home to put her to bed, promising they could finish the movie the next day.

Before Bellamy went to sleep, his phone buzzed with a text.

_Clarke: Thank you again for everything tonight. I don’t know what I would have done without you._

Bellamy thought for a moment about how to reply. He could reply with a joke or just a simple “no problem,” but ultimately he decided to say what he really felt.

_Bellamy: You’ll never have to find out. Goodnight, Princess._

* * *

Bellamy woke up early the next morning and dropped Rory off at Clarke’s before heading to the garage. He had cleared it with his boss the night before – as long as he paid for any parts himself and didn’t get in the way of the guys on shift, he was fine.

It was good that he left early, too, because the repairs took him all day. When he finally closed the hood and wiped the sweat off his brow, it was already nearly dinner time. He thought about picking up a pizza on his way home for himself and Rory – he didn’t have the energy to cook tonight. His phone chirped and he saw he had a text from Clarke.

_Clarke: Don’t pick up dinner – I’m cooking._

He smiled, wondering how she could read his mind.

_Bellamy: Sounds good. Just finished up here. Heading home now – we can pick up your car tomorrow._

_Clarke: Have I told you that you’re the best?_

_Bellamy: Yes, but it never hurts to have it in writing._

* * *

Bellamy had originally been scheduled to have lunch with Octavia that Saturday, but he pushed it to Sunday when Clarke’s car needed to be repaired. That Sunday, he and Rory met Octavia at their favorite café in town. It had paper coverings for the tables so that Rory could draw right on it, which somehow was way more fun than coloring on regular paper.

“Auntie O!” Rory squealed when she saw Octavia. Octavia beamed back at her and swung her around in a hug. They had just seen each other a few weeks earlier at Thanksgiving, but Rory could see her every day and still greet her with that much enthusiasm.

Octavia asked her all about school as Bellamy perused the menu. After they had ordered, Rory asked if she could go play in the corner set up for kids and her father and aunt sent her away with a smile.

“So tell me again why we couldn’t meet yesterday,” Octavia requested with a playful tone that told Bellamy she remembered exactly why they couldn’t meet. Bellamy rolled his eyes.

“I told you, O, I was fixing Clarke’s car.”

“And why couldn’t someone else fix her car?”

Bellamy narrowed his eyes at his sister now, the playfulness gone. “You know what it’s like being a single parent. She’s all on her own with her daughter.”

Octavia sobered a bit. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have joked about that. Still, though, it says a lot that you’re the person she called.”

“Of course I’m the person she called,” he argued. “I’m a mechanic and I live right next door to her.”

“You think she called you for the convenience of it?” Octavia asked, incredulous.

Bellamy rubbed the back of his neck.

“It was probably out of convenience.”

Octavia rolled her eyes back at him.

“How do you feel about her, Bell?” she asked now, direct as ever.

“I think she’s my best friend,” her brother told her honestly. “I love talking to her about my day. I love cooking and eating dinner with her. I love watching our daughters play together. She’s just the kindest, warmest, smartest person… I’ve only known her a few months and already I can’t imagine my life without her.”

“It sounds a lot like you’re in love with her, if you’re asking me.”

“It’s not like that,” Bellamy protested, though a voice inside his head rolled its eyes at his protestations. “Plus, if anything went wrong the girls would never forgive us and it would be super awkward living next door to each other. What we have is perfect – nothing good could come from messing with it.”

“Except, you know, the chance for eternal love and happiness.”

“Except for that.”

Rory rejoined them at the table as their lunch was placed in front of them, thankfully forcing Octavia to change the subject. Bellamy noticed, though, how often Octavia smirked at him whenever Rory talked about her best friend Madi and her amazing mom, Clarke.

* * *

Bellamy and Clarke spent a good portion of December taking turns watching the girls in the evenings or on weekends so that the other could Christmas shop, wrap, and generally prep for the holidays. Bellamy and Rory were staying home for Christmas and hosting Octavia and Lincoln on Christmas Day. Clarke and Madi were headed to Abby’s house for the holidays.

Clarke and Madi were scheduled to drive down to Abby’s on the 23rd, so on the night of the 22nd the four of them got together for dinner and to exchange small gifts. Bellamy cooked sloppy joes (one of the few meals the girls both liked) and Clarke heated apple cider for everyone.

They had all pledged to go small with the gift exchange. Clarke and Madi got Bellamy socks with huge stacks of books printed on them. Madi had picked out a copy of her favorite book, _Ella Enchanted_ , to give to Rory. Bellamy and Rory got Clarke kitchen towels printed with famous works of art. They gave Madi a smore-making kit you could use inside, though they acknowledged that that was really a gift for all four of them.

At the end of the night, Madi and Rory gave each other dramatic hugs and pledged to stay best friends, even though they would be separated for over a week.

Clarke rolled her eyes at Bellamy, who smirked back.

They said goodnight and Bellamy assumed that would be the last he saw of the Griffin girls until the new year.

He was wrong about that, though, because it turned out Clarke Griffin was a total sneaky sneak.

She knew that Bellamy was taking Rory into work with him the next day because Clarke wasn’t around to watch her and Octavia’s flight didn’t arrive until that afternoon. She and Madi didn’t have to leave until after lunch, but they packed as quickly as they could that morning because they had _plans_ they had to execute.

Bellamy and Rory met Octavia and Lincoln for dinner at the end of his shift and then the four of them decided to go back to Bellamy’s apartment for a holiday movie night.

When Bellamy opened his door and flicked on the light, he was momentarily struck by what he saw. His daughter gasped in surprise as well.

Their entire apartment was covered in beautiful, intricate paper snowflakes. They were hanging from the ceiling, draped over the furniture, taped to the walls and doorways, and laid across the tables and counters. It looked like Christmas had exploded across the entire apartment and the whole sight was, in a word, magical. Bellamy plucked one from the ceiling and immediately knew it was Clarke’s doing.

“What is all this?” Octavia asked, staring around in wonder.

Rory giggled. “This has to be Clarke and Madi. I knew they were up to something – Madi ran to close Clarke’s bedroom door the last time I was over there and refused to let me look in there.”

“She has a key to your apartment?” Octavia asked her brother, grinning.

“Yeah, we exchanged keys in November,” Bellamy replied, still not totally processing what he was seeing.

This wasn’t just a craft project writ large – this was something out of a storybook. It must have taken her and Madi hours – days, really – to put it all together. He was totally overwhelmed with how amazing it looked.

“She seems pretty special,” Lincoln said softly.

“She is,” Bellamy agreed. He noticed Octavia’s eyes getting warmer and he cleared his throat before taking everyone’s coats and delicately moving away the snowflakes they needed to shift for their movie night.

He waited to text Clarke until everyone had left for the night and he had gotten Rory to sleep.

_Bellamy: You are amazing._

_Clarke: I am a whiz with the scissors!_

_Bellamy: Seriously – you just made Rory’s Christmas so special. I couldn’t stop staring at it the whole night._

_Clarke: Well, Madi was very concerned that Rory was going to forget about her, so we had to make sure we left an impression._

_Bellamy: Griffin girls are many things, but forgettable is not one of them._

_Clarke: I need that quote stenciled on the wall of my apartment._

_Bellamy: Be careful what you say or I’ll sneak in and do it before next Christmas._

_Clarke: Deal._

* * *

The new year brought a return to their routine. Clarke watched Rory after school three days a week so Bellamy could finish his shifts at the shop. They typically cooked together at least one of those nights, too, and soon it seemed they were eating dinner together more often than they were eating it separately. On the weekends, Bellamy took the girls outside to sled or play in the snow. One weekend they made an enormous igloo and even Grumpy Clarke had to admit that it was pretty cool (when they finally dragged her out to see it).

One evening, Clarke pointed out that Bellamy shouldn’t have to take the girls out every weekend just because she had them during the weekday afternoons. They were chatting in Bellamy’s apartment while the girls were locked into an intense game of Connect Four.

“It’s your only time off,” she told him, “and I’m sure you’re exhausted from working all week. I don’t want you to feel like you owe me anything.”

“First of all, we both know that I basically owe you for everything,” he replied, and she rolled her eyes but he continued anyway. “But aside from that, I genuinely enjoy being outside with them. It’s the only time I really have to play with Rory – I look forward to it all week.” Bellamy paused before adding “And not to sound weird, but it’s also really the only time I get to see Madi these days.”

Clarke felt her heart swell and her eyes prickled with tears. She had never heard anyone talk about her daughter that way. And she knew that he was telling the truth – he really did love her and love spending time with her.

“Well Madi absolutely loves it. She can’t wait for ‘Saturday Snow Days’ as she calls them.”

Bellamy grinned at that. “Let’s just hope they have the same enthusiasm when it’s still snowing in March.”

“Don’t remind me,” Clarke groaned.

Bellamy’s phone dinged with a text and he pulled it out, read it, and put it aside with a sigh.

“O’s asking me what my plans are for Madi’s birthday. I still don’t know what we’re going to do.”

“When is it, again?” Clarke asked.

“January 30. We have two weeks.”

“And why can’t you just have the typical birthday party with cake and streamers and an insane number of little girls running around making a mess of your apartment?”

“Because Rory keeps insisting that she wants something _different_. I have always felt bad for her with her January birthday – it’s so close to Christmas that it often just gets lumped in, and it’s too cold to have any kind of cool outdoor party, which is what she’s always wanted.”

Clarke thought for a moment. “Why couldn’t we have a summer party in here?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Tell all of the girls to bring summer clothes to change into and flip flops. Crank the heat for a day. Play Hawaiian music. Ooo – buy those little paper umbrellas for their drinks! The girls will flip.”

“That’s a great idea! And we could do like an ice cream sundae bar or something,” Bellamy added. Clarke’s eyes lit up.

They called the girls over and explained their idea. Rory and Madi were instantly on board.

“Can we serve summer food, like hot dogs and watermelon?” Rory asked.

“It might be hard to find watermelon this time of year, but we’ll do our best,” her father told her.

“Let’s fill the apartment with sand!” Madi suggested. Both parents quickly vetoed that line of thinking, though.

“Could you think of some kind of summer craft for us to do?” Rory asked Clarke.

“I can definitely handle that,” Clarke assured her.

By the end of the night, they had the whole party sketched out.

“See, I told you I owe you for everything,” Bellamy told Clarke before the girls headed back to their apartment.

“Buy rainbow sprinkles for the sundae bar and we’ll call it even.”

“Like I could have a sundae bar without rainbow sprinkles.”

* * *

The morning of Rory’s birthday party, Clarke found herself inexplicably nervous. She was leading Rory and her friends in a simple craft project making foam flip flop magnets. She had helped Bellamy decorate and set up the night before.

The real reason she was nervous, Clarke suspected, was that she was meeting Bellamy’s sister Octavia and her fiancé Lincoln at the party. Clarke had heard a lot about Octavia and, even though she and Bellamy were just friends and neighbors, Clarke still wanted the impressive young woman to like her.

She put on her favorite summer sundress to match the party’s theme and even curled her hair and put on a touch of makeup. She and Madi headed over an hour before the party started to help with final decorations and setup.

Bellamy’s smile when he opened the door and took sight of her was enough to calm her nerves. He was wearing a comically terrible Hawaiian shirt and shorts and Madi wasted no time roasting him for his outfit. He pretended to be offended, but Clarke knew it was all an act.

As the guests arrived, they took turns changing into their summer clothes in Rory’s room and the bathroom. The girls loved getting to wear their favorite shorts, tank tops, and summer dresses. They _especially_ loved getting to wear flip flops again.

As Clarke helped one little girl fold up her winter clothes after changing, she noticed Bellamy greeting a couple at the door. She knew instantly that the woman had to be Octavia. The couple had no children with them and the woman definitely looked related to Bellamy. Her fiancé was large and would have been intimidating if not for his warm smile.

“Auntie O!” Rory shouted, running at the woman Clarke now knew to be Octavia. Octavia picked her up in a big hug while Lincoln found the gift table and set their large package on it.

The party went smoothly overall. The craft was easy and the girls loved decorating their magnets. The sundae bar was definitely a hit and Bellamy made Clarke a bowl that was more sprinkles than ice cream, to which she rolled her eyes, but then she ate the whole thing and decided the proportions were actually perfect.

While the girls were having a dance party in the living room, Octavia sidled up to Clarke.

“You must be Clarke,” she said with a bright smile.

“And you’re definitely Octavia,” Clarke said with a laugh.

“I heard you helped put all of this together – it’s terrific!”

“The girls did most of it,” Clarke said, “but we were happy to help. Madi practically lives over here anyway.”

“I hear the girls are inseparable.”

“They really are.”

Octavia paused. “Bellamy’s lucky to have you next door. He’s told me how helpful you have been.”

Clarke rolled her eyes fondly. “He acts like I donated a kidney to him or something. Rory just plays with my daughter a few afternoons per week – it’s seriously nothing. I’m just as grateful to have them both next door, trust me.”

Octavia smiled at that. They continued chatting, getting to know each other. Clarke couldn’t remember why she had been intimidated to meet her and, by the end of the conversation, the two had even exchanged numbers and talked about getting lunch sometime.

Clarke stayed to help all of the girls change back into their winter clothes (with much groaning) and meet their parents to head home. She and Madi tried to help clean up, but Bellamy and Octavia sent them home to enjoy the rest of their afternoon, arguing that they had done enough. Clarke didn’t want to intrude on their family time, so she and Madi returned back to her apartment.

After they had gone, Octavia rounded on her brother.

“Here we go,” Lincoln muttered under his breath.

“I like her,” Octavia told Bellamy.

“That’s good. She and Madi are both great.” He avoided eye contact with his sister, instead focusing on collecting all of the paper cups and bowls and stacking them in the trash.

“Are you going to do anything about it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Bellamy Blake. Are you going to ask her out?”

Bellamy looked over his shoulder to make sure Rory was still distracted by her pile of gifts (she was, fortunately).

“Shh,” he told Octavia, “don’t let Rory hear you saying that.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“I can’t ask her out, O. If anything went wrong my life would be a nightmare.”

“She seems so perfect for you, though,” Octavia protested.

Bellamy stepped closer to his sister so that he could whisper to her without Rory hearing.

“You think I don’t know that?” he asked.

“Then do something about it!”

“I can’t!”

The two argued back and forth for a bit, but Rory popped in to ask for some help setting up some kind of animal veterinarian toy and Octavia volunteered, sending Bellamy one final glare before joining her niece.

“She’s not going to let up on that, is she?” Bellamy asked Lincoln.

“Not a chance,” Lincoln told him. “She and Clarke exchanged phone numbers, too.”

Bellamy groaned and ran his hand down his face.

* * *

Octavia didn’t let up in the days and weeks following Rory’s party. She decided on her own that Bellamy needed to ask Clarke out for Valentine’s Day. When he told her that that was absurd and over the top, Octavia argued that it was just perfect timing.

He tried to ignore his sister, but he had to admit it was hard to keep her voice out of his head, particularly with the upcoming holiday.

Bellamy was typically a proponent of the “buy a box of character-themed valentines at the store, pick up a bag of Valentine’s Day tootsie pops, and let Rory tape a tootsie pop to each valentine” approach for the holiday. When he brought this up to Clarke, however, she stared at him, aghast.

“You can’t be serious,” she told him.

Bellamy looked confused. “Of course I’m serious. Wait, are tootsie pops on the allergy list now?”

Clarke rolled her eyes. “It’s not the tootsie pops that are the problem. Valentine’s Day is the single biggest crafting holiday of the entire year. As an elementary school art teacher, it feels a little like you’re insulting my people.”

And that’s how Bellamy found himself and Rory sitting at Clarke’s table the weekend before Valentine’s Day with Clarke and Madi. They were surrounded by cardstock, stickers, snippets of lace and ribbon, glitter glue, sequins, and who knew what else.

“You’re telling me that we have to make a valentine from scratch for every kid in her class?” he asked in disbelief.

“I’m telling you that you have to make a handcrafted, unique valentine for each kid in her class,” Clarke corrected, and the girls nodded at him solemnly.

This was going to be a long day.

Rory was having the time of her life, though, so he couldn’t be too much of a grump about it. He watched as his daughter coordinated paper and sticker choices, talking seriously about how many glue-on gems was too many or just right. Clarke was definitely in her element, and Bellamy was definitely not. After his third attempt, the girls decided that he could be in charge of cutting out the hearts and cleaning up the scraps, leaving the rest to them.

He received another prodding text from Octavia, but ignored it. He couldn’t ignore, though, how his heart raced when Clarke giggled or when she helped Rory glue a piece of ribbon to the border of her valentine.

He knew Octavia was right. Clarke was perfect for him. He was even comfortable admitting to himself that he had feelings for her – he knew that he did and had for some time. She was the first thing he thought about in the morning and the last face he pictured before he fell asleep. He had had more than one embarrassing dream about her. The evenings they spent watching Netflix, completing the crossword, or just talking were the most peaceful, fulfilling moments he had (aside from those he shared with his daughter). And seeing her with Rory – it was just everything he could ever dream of.

But as he watched them make their valentines at the table, he knew that what they had now was so perfect, there was no way he could risk it.

If he asked Clarke out and she turned him down, things would always be awkward between them. She probably wouldn’t want to see him as much and the girls would definitely feel the new tension.

And if she said yes and things went wrong, that would be even worse. It made him nauseous to think of not seeing Clarke and Madi anymore, of them not being in his life.

Clarke caught his eye across the table and grinned at him as the girls chattered endlessly about their friends in their classes.

He couldn’t risk it, he decided. She was simply too important to him.

On the morning of Valentine’s Day, he found a red paper heart taped to his front door with a poem written on it. It read “Roses are red, violets are blue, your daughter is incredible, and you’re kind of ok I guess.” He laughed aloud at it and tucked it into his bag for safekeeping. He instantly thought of a plan for his lunch break.

When Clarke and Madi returned home that night, they found two vases of pink roses on the counter.

_Clarke: Ok, you’re better than kind of ok_

_Bellamy: Yes!_

_Clarke: You are at least “pretty good”_

_Bellamy: Moving up the ranks, Princess._

* * *

In March, something happened that had never happened before: Rory and Madi got into a _fight_. Bellamy and Clarke knew what was really happening: the winter was getting old, the snow wasn’t exciting anymore, and everyone was going stir-crazy inside. Bellamy remembered fighting with Octavia in the spring months as everyone’s tempers grew short.

There was an official reason for the fight, but neither parent could totally understand it. It was something about Madi wearing a certain shirt to school after promising Rory she would wait to wear it a different day, and they were either planning to match or not match – Clarke wasn’t totally clear on the details.

Either way, the girls held out, refusing to speak to each other for days. Clarke still brought Rory home after school, but the girls did their homework in silence, sitting at opposite ends of the table and refusing to even look at each other.

Clarke tried to keep a straight face and spent her time sending funny update texts to Bellamy.

_Clarke: Madi just sneezed and Rory was halfway through “bless you” before she remembered she wasn’t talking to her and pretended it was just a cough. Madi glared at her anyway._

_Clarke: Rory just opened her textbook and set it on the table in front of her so that “she wouldn’t have to look at any traitors.” Things are getting tense up in here, Bell._

_Clarke: Madi just colored her sun blue because she didn’t want to ask Rory for the yellow crayon._

Bellamy laughed when he got the texts and sent similar ones whenever Rory said something about the feud when they were home.

Clarke and Bellamy knew that the fight was absurd, but they both secretly hoped it would blow over soon, because they missed each other in the evenings. Bellamy missed having someone to talk to about his frustrations at work, where it seemed like he would never get that promotion he was seeking. Clarke was filled with funny stories from her third-graders experimenting with performance art and had no one to tell them to.

Finally, after nearly two weeks, Madi came to Clarke at bedtime crying her eyes out.

“I just miss her so much, Mommy,” she cried.

Clarke held her sobbing daughter, telling herself not to laugh and reminding herself that these were real feelings.

“Do you want to talk things out with her?” she asked. Madi nodded frantically.

Clarke started to text Bellamy, but before she could hit send, they heard a knock at the door.

Clarke opened the door to see Bellamy, who also appeared to be struggling to keep his laughter in check, and Rory, whose eyes were red with tears.

The girls stared at each other for a moment before falling dramatically into each other’s arms. Words of apologies and explanations were said, forgiveness was granted, and order was restored. Clarke and Bellamy even agreed to let them have a sleepover, even though it was a school night, when the girls insisted that they couldn’t spend another moment apart.

After they got the girls to bed, Bellamy pulled up Netflix and Clarke settled onto the couch next to him.

They looked at each other and let out a loud exhale.

“That was exhausting,” Bellamy told her.

“Agreed.” Clarke paused. “Also, I kind of missed you.”

Bellamy poked her in the side and she laughed. “I kind of missed you too,” he replied.

Clarke took a risk and rested her head on his shoulder. Bellamy responded by wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close.

Now instead of holding in her laughter, Clarke worked to keep from grinning like an idiot.

* * *

Octavia may have been bugging Bellamy to make a move, but Raven was just as insistent with Clarke.

“He’s perfect for you – even Shaw thinks so,” Raven insisted. They were out for drinks at their favorite bar on a Saturday night – Bellamy had taken the girls for the evening.

“I know, Raven, but he’s not interested,” Clarke replied. “He’s had months to make a move and hasn’t said a thing. I watched an entire show with my head on his shoulder a couple of weeks ago and couldn’t get him to even hold my hand.”

“Ok, first of all, we both know you could make a move too – this isn’t some nineteenth century novel where the helpless woman has to sit around waiting for the man to admit his feelings. Second of all, didn’t he get you roses for Valentine’s Day?”

“He got both Madi and I roses, yes,” Clarke conceded, “but they were friend-roses.”

“And you spend all of your time together.”

“We spend several evenings a week together, yes, because our daughters enjoy each other’s company.”

“You talk about your frustrations at work, your family, your dreams for the future…”

“We partake in friendly conversation,” Clarke corrected.

Raven rolled her eyes.

“Madi adores him,” Raven announced, trying another tactic.

“She might feel differently if I started dating him, though,” Clarke pushed back. “Remember Lexa?” Clarke and Lexa had dated for nearly a year when Madi was three. For ten months, they had dated without telling Madi, with Clarke only seeing her when Madi was with her mother or a babysitter. As soon as Madi met Lexa, she hated her. The feeling turned out to be pretty much mutual (Lexa didn’t hate Madi, but did hate being a parent) and the relationship disintegrated quickly after three chaotic family dinners.

“Bellamy isn’t Lexa,” Raven replied. “He genuinely loves being a parent and Madi already loves him.”

“I can’t risk it, Raven,” Clarke pushed back. “And he could do much better than me.”

“What _the fuck_ are you talking about, Griffin?”

“I’m an elementary school art teacher with a daughter – I’m not exactly the world’s greatest catch.”

“He’s a mechanic who also has a daughter – how are you out of his league, exactly?”

“Because he’s kind and thoughtful and the single most handsome human who has ever existed,” Clarke responded with a groan.

“You’ve got it bad,” Raven told her.

“I know,” she moaned as she buried her face in her hands.

Raven took another sip of her drinks, muttering “idiots” to no one in particular.

* * *

Clarke couldn’t get Raven’s words out of her head. Was it possible Bellamy did feel the same way? She started to analyze every smile he shot her, every time his gaze seemed to linger on her for longer that was maybe strictly platonic. It killed her to watch how gentle and patient he was with Madi and to see how much she adored him.

Then, suddenly, things changed and she stopped having the opportunity to observe him. In April, Bellamy suddenly became very busy in the evenings. Rory started spending more evenings and nights with Octavia. Sometimes Clarke saw Charlotte, a teenager who lived in the next building, there to babysit her in the evenings. And sometimes Bellamy even asked Clarke if she would mind watching her in the evening.

Clarke didn’t know what to make of it. She tried to casually ask Rory if she knew what her father was up to, but Rory said she had just heard something about a “dropship.”

Clarke knew that The Dropship was the name of a popular bar downtown. A couple of weeks into March, she figured it out: Bellamy was dating someone.

The signs were obvious: he was going out in the evenings, keeping it from his daughter (just as she had with Lexa until she was ready for them to meet), and he was even busy some weekend days. She considered that maybe he was working more at the garage, but one Saturday when he had said he was busy, she and Madi had driven past the garage on their way to the grocery store (it was on the way, ok), and she didn’t see his car there.

It made her nauseous to think of him out with someone else. Did he smile as broadly as he did when he was with Clarke? Was he telling this new stranger all about Rory? When things became more serious, would this person help with childcare? Would Clarke and Madi become the neighbors they occasionally saw for a play date? And if things got really serious, would Bellamy and Rory move out?

She was spiraling and she knew it.

She started watching Bellamy closely when they were together, trying to see if he seemed secretly happier or if he smiled at his phone from time to time as if he had just received a flirty text message. She didn’t see any of that, though. If anything, he looked even more stressed, and she started to worry about whatever was going on.

Finally, she decided to just ask him. They had finished dinner and were filling out the crossword together while the girls enjoyed a movie night. It was the first time the four of them had spent the evening together in weeks.

“What are you and Rory up to this weekend?” Clarke asked, trying to sound casual.

“Rory’s with Octavia on Saturday,” Bellamy told her, sounding tired, “and Sunday I know we have to work on her science project.”

Clarke hesitated, trying to plot her next move. “Rory’s been spending a lot of time with Octavia. Is she done traveling for a while?”

“For another month or so,” Bellamy told her. “I don’t know what I’m going to do when she goes back to it.”

Clarke’s pulse was racing. She couldn’t figure out how to be subtle about it, so she just decided to throw tact to the wind.

“Are you seeing someone?” she asked, keeping her voice down so the girls wouldn’t hear her.

“What?” Bellamy asked, looking up at her with a confused expression.

“I noticed you’ve been busy a lot of evenings and weekends,” Clarke explained, “so I assumed that you had started dating someone. I figured you might not want Rory to know yet.”

Bellamy paled as she spoke. “No, I’m definitely not seeing anyone. Completely single.” He knew there was no reason to be stressing that part, but in his heart he needed Clarke to _know_.

“Then what have you been up to?”

Bellamy sighed and checked to make sure that the girls were focused on their movie and not paying attention.

“I got a second job as a bartender. I’m trying to save up enough money to afford childcare this summer. Last year Octavia took Rory most days, and she came to the shop on the days O was busy, but now with O’s new job I can’t count on that. I’m trying to avoid having to bring her to the garage every day, which I know both she and my boss equally dislike.”

Clarke thought for a moment. She knew childcare, even just the summer camps most parents secured for their kids during the summer, was insanely expensive. She was fortunate that she had the summer off from her job.

“I think the answer’s obvious,” she offered, anticipating Bellamy’s protests. He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m off during the summer and I’ll be here every day with Madi – there’s no reason Rory can’t just stay with us.”

Bellamy swallowed hard and looked at their daughters and then back to Clarke. “Absolutely not,” he told her, “there’s no way I could ask you to do that. You already do too much for us. That’s an insane amount of work to ask you to do.”

“It’s literally no more work than I’m already doing,” she argued, “and it would probably make my life _easier_ to give Madi a playmate every day. If Rory’s not here, I’m the one who has to play barbies or run around on the playground. Kids are like cats – get two and they entertain each other. Also they scratch up the furniture.”

“Clarke, I couldn’t ask-”

“You’re not asking. I’m telling you what we’re doing. I love your daughter and I’m keeping her this summer. Be nice and I’ll let you have her back sometimes.”

Bellamy looked like he was going to argue more, but then exhaled in defeat.

“I can’t tell you how much that would help me,” he confessed. “Even with this second job, I didn’t know how I was going to afford it, and bartending takes away the little time I have with her now.”

Clarke reached her hand out and rubbed it on his arm. “Quit the bartending, Bell. Be here with your daughter. Let me help when I can.”

“And you won’t let me pay you at all?” he asked.

“I’ll let you pay for the food I feed Rory while she’s with me, and for any admissions to the zoo or anything we go to,” Clarke told him as a compromise. “And I’ll let you keep cooking for me,” she added with a grin.

“Let’s hope this is the summer our girls start to like vegetables.”

Clarke knocked on the wooden table with a wink.

* * *

Sunday was sunny and the first truly warm day of Spring. After Rory finished her science project, the four of them celebrated with their first trip to the nearby playground since the previous October.

Bellamy and Clarke sat on the same bench they had six months earlier. He remembered how they had gotten to know each other there, talking for really the first time. Now, he knew exactly how she had prepared the tea in her thermos. He knew or had even met all of the people in her stories. He could tell when she was about to tell a joke or when she looked concerned for whatever mischief the girls were getting into.

Six months ago, he had sat on this bench next to a woman he thought was stupidly beautiful. That much hadn’t changed, but now he knew she was also smart, creative, warm, funny, and quite possibly the love of his life.

* * *

The weather broke for good soon after that weekend and the ability to go play outside drastically improved the moods of both the children and their parents. Bellamy now typically met them at the park after work on the days Clarke watched Rory, where the girls enjoyed the swings and slides after racing through their homework.

They all celebrated the end of the school year by going out to dinner together. They were used to eating together, but this was their first time doing it at a restaurant. Predictably, it was Octavia’s doing. She had visited often during the two months she was off from traveling and she and Madi had formed a fast friendship. She insisted on taking both girls (and their parents) out to dinner to celebrate completing first grade. Lincoln and his brother Nyko joined them too.

Bellamy watched Clarke and Octavia laugh over something as they looked over the menu together. The two had been texting frequently since Rory’s birthday party and he had even watched the girls a couple of times so that Clarke and his sister could go out for a drink. He knew he was jealous, but he didn’t know which of them he was jealous of. Probably both.

He expected it to feel awkward being at the restaurant with Clarke and the girls – like an almost-date. As it worked out, though, it felt completely normal. It felt like his family all gathered around for a celebratory dinner, which, in a way, is exactly what it was.

“Have you set a date for the wedding yet?” Madi asked Octavia excitedly.

“August the 28th,” Octavia told her with a grin, reaching out to squeeze Lincoln’s hand.

“And I’m going to be a flower girl,” Rory told her friend proudly. Madi squealed with excitement and the two started talking about what her dress would look like.

“Have you decided who you’re bringing as your date yet, Bell?” Octavia asked pointedly. Bellamy’s eyes shot involuntarily to Clarke, who was pushing her salad around on her plate with her fork and decidedly not looking at him.

Octavia, on the other hand, was grinning brightly. Bellamy knew what she was up to.

“I don’t think I’m bringing a date, O – I think I’ll be too busy watching Rory and helping to make sure everything goes according to plan to really be a fun wedding date for anyone. And I’ll probably have to leave around 8, anyway, to get Rory home for bed.”

“You’ll miss over half of the wedding if you leave then,” Nyko pointed out. “You could pack a sleeping bag or something for her.” It was clear he didn’t have children.

“I could pick Rory up and take her for the night when she’s had enough,” Clarke suddenly volunteered. “That way you could actually enjoy the wedding and, you know, a date if you wanted one.”

Bellamy didn’t know how to respond. It felt like he had a huge lump wedged into his throat. Clarke was still not looking at him, instead focusing her attention on the girls. Her smile was friendly, but he could tell that at least part of it was forced.

Octavia’s grin had fallen – this was the exact opposite of what she had hoped for. She looked to Lincoln for help, but he couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Yay!” Rory shouted in agreement. “Then Madi can see my dress, too!”

“Perfect,” Clarke agreed, and she pulled out her phone to add it to her calendar.

“Thanks, Clarke,” Bellamy said out of politeness. She flashed him a quick smile before looking away again.

Octavia shot him an apologetic glance, but Bellamy just glared at her.

“If you’re looking for a date, I have a gorgeous friend you’d love,” Nyko started to tell him. Bellamy tried to listen politely as Nyko talked, but he knew the man was wasting his time.

The rest of the lunch went well, but Bellamy couldn’t tell if Clarke was continuing to avoid eye contact with him afterwards or if he was just overanalyzing the situation.

* * *

Rory was excited to spend her summer vacation with Clarke and Madi. Clarke promised lots of outings to parks where they could play on playgrounds, but also go for hikes and look for birds. They were also planning trips to the lake thirty minutes from their apartment and the girls both wanted to visit the zoo at least twice. Even on days when they didn’t go anywhere, Rory was looking forward to playing with her best friend.

Madi turned seven at the end of June. Clarke rented a pavilion at a local park and Madi invited all of her friends from school. Bellamy baked the cake and Madi told him it was the best she had ever had. Bellamy beamed at the praise, but told Madi to maybe not tell her mom about that.

A few weeks after that, Raven and Shaw held a barbeque to celebrate moving in together. Bellamy introduced Clarke to his and Shaw’s other coworkers, including a creepy-looking man named Murphy and his girlfriend Emori, both of whom worked as mechanics at the shop. Clarke introduced him to her and Raven’s other friends from college who still lived in the area, including her freshman roommate Harper and her husband Monty, as well as Monty’s long-time friend Jasper.

Madi and Rory politely said hi to the people their parents introduced them to and then made a beeline for the Giant Jenga set Raven had set up on a table in the yard. Clarke laughed as she watched the girls maneuvering the cumbersome pieces.

“I thought they would like that,” Raven told Clarke, coming up beside her and handing her a beer. Clarke thanked her for the bottle and clinked it to Raven’s.

“The house is beautiful, Raven. Congratulations again!”

“Thanks. I’m excited to unpack and settle in.”

They talked about Raven’s plans for redoing the kitchen and the other cosmetic changes she hoped to make.

“How are things going on your end?” Raven asked.

“Things are great,” Clarke told her. “Madi and Rory are keeping me busy, but they’re at such a fun age – you can really do a lot with them.”

“And how are things with you and Bellamy?”

“Fine. Normal. Nothing to report.”

Raven arched an eyebrow at her. “He made your daughter’s birthday cake.”

“And I helped him plan his daughter’s birthday party,” Clarke countered.

“Yeah, that’s actually just proving my point,” Raven said with a smirk. Clarke rolled her eyes.

Harper came up to join in the conversation.

“What are you two arguing about?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Clarke told her, but Raven quickly explained the situation.

“Wait, is this the neighbor you were telling me about the last time we went out?” Harper asked. She and Clarke had met for dinner in January.

“Yeah, probably,” Clarke said, pretending like she didn’t remember the exact conversation.

Raven continued talking, telling Harper all about how Bellamy took Madi sledding and even baked her birthday cake.

Clarke expected Harper to immediately take Raven’s side, so she was surprised when her friend responded with a frown.

“What’s that face for?” Raven asked.

“Well, don’t get me wrong, I think Bellamy’s a great guy. I’ve only talked to him a little bit today but I can tell that he’s friendly and smart. But everything you’re telling me makes it sound like Clarke should only like him because he’s like this ready-made-dad for Madi. That’s great that you two help each other out, but doesn’t Clarke deserve more than that?” She turned to Clarke now. “You’re a great mom and Madi doesn’t need anyone else. It’s great if she has this bond with him, but I don’t think you should enter into a relationship just because it would make your daughter happy.”

Clarke thought about her words carefully. She glanced over to where Bellamy stood drinking with Shaw and chatting with Monty.

“I guess the real question,” Harper said, “is whether you would be interested in him if Madi and Rory weren’t in the picture. Is he the person who would make the best partner for you, or simply the best co-parent for your daughter?”

“That’s heavy stuff, Harper,” Raven told her with a giggle. Harper laughed and the two of them moved on to talking about something else, but Clarke couldn’t stop thinking now. She thought about Bellamy apart from the girls. She pictured him humming as he stood at the stove, stirring a pan of fried rice. She thought about how he always texted her before running to the store to see if she needed anything. She remembered how he held her the night her car broke down and how his arms were all she wanted when everything seemed to be falling apart. She thought of how funny he was and how smart and driven. She thought about how hard he worked and how much he cared about always giving his all to whatever he was doing.

“Yes,” she said suddenly, and Raven and Harper turned to her, confused. Several minutes had clearly passed. Harper and Raven were now talking about the car Harper was hoping to buy the next week and they had no idea what Clarke’s “yes” was in response to.

“What?” Harper asked, confused.

“Yes. Yes, I would be interested in him even if the girls weren’t in the picture. Yes, I think he’s perfect for me. Yes, I think he’s the most giving, warm, genuine, incredible person I’ve ever known. Yes, I think he would make a perfect partner for me and not just a co-parent. Yes, I think that I’m… I think that I’m… holy shit, I think I’m in love with him.”

Luckily, they were speaking quietly and standing far away from the other people at the barbeque. Still, Raven had to clap her hand over Harper’s mouth when she let out a squeal.

“Holy shit, holy shit,” Clarke kept repeating.

“Holy shit!” Raven said back.

“Hooooooly shit,” Harper punctuated.

“What do I do now?” Clarke asked.

“Try to figure out how he feels?” Harper asked.

“And try to keep it together in the meantime,” Raven suggested with a giggle. Harper laughed too, but Clarke felt too dizzy to be amused.

She felt like she was in a daze for the rest of the barbeque. Madi challenged her to a game of Giant Jenga and she legitimately lost to her seven-year-old: she didn’t even let her win. One of Shaw’s friends tried to talk her up by the drinks cooler and it was all she could do to maintain a polite conversation. She couldn’t focus on anything except the newfound knowledge floating around in her head that she was in love with Bellamy.

Bellamy, on the other hand, couldn’t stop focusing on whoever this guy was who was talking to Clarke by the cooler. He had looked up, scanning the party to find her and ask what her plans were for the evening, thinking it might be a good night to take the girls out for ice cream. When he spotted her, he also caught sight of the tall, handsome man chatting with her. He watched as the man made a joke and Clarke laughed. He didn’t like that. Then he saw the stranger run his hand through his hair, clearly flirting. He didn’t like that, either. _Then_ he saw the man lift a fallen eyelash from Clarke’s cheek and he nearly combusted.

“Having trouble there, Blake?” Raven asked, coming to stand next to him. She followed his eyes and saw where he was looking.

“Ah, that’s Shaw’s friend from high school. He’s a great guy.”

Bellamy choked on his beer. “Great, cool,” he said. Raven smirked at him, clearly enjoying his discomfort.

Later, as everyone was packing their cars and saying their goodbyes, Raven pulled Clarke in for a hug.

“The feeling’s mutual,” Raven whispered in her ear. Clarke looked at her skeptically, but Raven just added a “trust me.”

* * *

“Do you have a date for my wedding yet?” Octavia asked him for the thirtieth time. He had answered her call as he drove home from work and was hoping she wouldn’t spend the whole time nagging him.

“No, and I don’t plan to find one.”

“You know all of this could have been avoided if you had just asked Clarke when I told you to.”

“Who said I wanted to ask Clarke?”

“You’re an idiot.”

Bellamy was quiet for a moment.

“Trust me,” he finally sighed, “I know.”

* * *

For the first month and a half, the summer went off without a hitch. The girls had a blast every day and Clarke was right about Rory making her life easier by playing with Madi. The pair still groaned over food choices and whined when they couldn’t play outside, but they got over these small struggles pretty quickly. Bellamy’s apartment quickly filled with craft projects and his refrigerator was so packed with artwork that he couldn’t even close it without a few stray pages scattering to the ground.

Around the middle of July, however, he picked up Rory on what had clearly been a bad day. Clarke greeted him at the door with a frown.

“Rory’s mad at both Madi and me,” she told him.

Bellamy furrowed his brow. “What’s the reason this time?”

“She won’t tell me.”

“Did anything happen?”

“Not while I was watching.”

Bellamy rolled his eyes and called for Rory. She hurried to her father and left without saying goodbye to Clarke or Madi.

Bellamy’s eyes met Clarke’s and they both looked concerned now.

“I’ll talk to her,” he promised.

A few hours later, when Clarke was telling Madi she had ten more minutes of playtime before she had to start getting ready for bed, Bellamy and Rory knocked on her door.

“Rory would like to talk to you,” Bellamy said gently. Rory nodded, looking at the floor.

“Do you want to talk to me in private?” Clarke asked. Rory nodded again. Bellamy agreed to watch Madi and Clarke and Rory walked back to Rory’s apartment, sitting down at the dining room table.

Rory started to cry softly. Clarke reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, running her hand soothingly down the child’s head.

“What happened today, Rory?” Clarke asked gently.

Rory was quiet for a moment, but Clarke could tell she was building up the courage to talk, so she stayed quiet too.

“It’s hard sometimes,” Rory began. Clarke again waited for her to put her words together. “It’s hard to see you and Madi together sometimes. Sometimes I just wish… I just wish I had a mom who loved me like you love Madi.” When she had said this, she burst into tears. Clarke pulled the girl into her lap and held her tightly. Tears pricked at Clarke’s eyes.

“Oh, Rory,” she began, rocking the girl back and forth. “I know how hard it must be to be away from your dad for so much of the day and to see Madi with her mom. It’s not fair that my job gives me time to spend with my daughter and your father’s job doesn’t. I’m sorry that you have to spend so much time with me and not with him.”

“I like spending time with you, though,” Rory said through her tears. “It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you. It’s that sometimes I wish you were _my_ mom too. My mom didn’t want me.”

Clarke held the girl even more tightly now and felt tears running down her own cheeks. How could she tell Rory that she wished she was her mother too? That she loved her like a daughter and wished she could call her that? How did she comfort the child without crossing a line and making her feel uncomfortable, or communicating something untrue about her relationship with Bellamy?

Finally, she found the words she wanted to say. She held Rory’s face gently in her hands and looked into the child’s eyes.

“I feel so sorry for your mommy,” Clarke told her. “I feel so sorry that she missed out on getting to know such a funny, warm, giggly, imaginative, strong little girl. I feel sorry that she doesn’t get to play with you or sing you songs or cook you dinner. But you know what I’m not sorry about?” Rory shook her head. “I’m not sorry that I get to spend every day with you. I love having you over with me and Madi. And, to me, you are a part of our family. You will always have me, Rory, do you hear me? I promise you that. No matter where we live or what we’re doing, you have me. And you have Madi too, but I know you know that.”

Rory nodded now, her tears slowly winding down. She buried her face in the crook of Clarke’s neck and Clarke continued to hold her tightly.

“Thank you for telling me this,” Clarke told her. “I know it wasn’t easy for you.” Clarke thought about what Bellamy had told her so long ago, about always fearing that he wouldn’t be enough for his daughter. “Did you tell your daddy what was bothering you?” she asked nervously.

Rory shook her head no. “I just told him I needed to talk to you. Should I tell him now?”

“Do you mind if I explain it to him?” Clarke asked. Rory told her that would be fine.

The two stayed there for a few more moments, calming down and rocking back and forth.

“I think I’d like to go to bed now,” Rory told her.

“Ok,” Clarke agreed. “Why don’t I go talk to your dad for a few minutes and send him back here? Do you want to work on putting on your pajamas and brushing your teeth?”

Rory agreed and Clarke left, locking the door behind her. Bellamy would only be a few feet away and it would only be a few minutes, but she never took any chances.

When she entered her own apartment, Bellamy was reading Madi a story. Clarke asked if she could talk privately with Bellamy for a moment and Madi retreated to her room, knowing they needed to talk about what happened with Rory.

“Is everything alright?” Bellamy asked, clearly nervous.

“It is now,” Clarke assured him. She rubbed his arm as they sat on the couch, knowing he was full of worry and trying to calm him down.

“What was that all about?”

Clarke chose her words carefully. “Rory was having trouble seeing Madi and I together all the time. I think she’s a little jealous that Madi gets her parent home all day while she doesn’t.” Bellamy’s face fell. “She doesn’t blame you, though! And she said she loves being here with us. I think it’s just hard for her to see us playing together and stuff.”

Bellamy nodded, but Clarke could tell he still felt guilty. She had to tell him the next part, but she knew it was only going to make him feel worse.

“And… she told me that sometimes she wishes that I was her mom too,” Clarke told him in a voice barely above a whisper. She could tell that Bellamy was holding back tears. Clarke quickly told him what she had said to Rory and how she had calmed her down, emphasizing the positive end of the conversation. At the end, though, she could tell that Bellamy still felt just destroyed.

She raised her hands to hold his face in them, just as she had with Rory.

“Talk to me,” she told him softly. He kept his eyes tightly closed.

“I’ll never be enough for her,” he murmured.

“Not true,” Clarke contested adamantly, shaking her head and holding her own tears back. “You are everything to her. You are the best dad in the universe and she loves you _so much_.”

“But I’ll never be a mom. I’ll never be able to give her that.”

“And I’ll never be able to give Madi a dad. It doesn’t make us worse parents and it doesn’t doom our children to a lifetime of misery. You are an incredible father. I think I’m a pretty good mother. We work every second of our lives to provide for and take care of these beautiful little girls. No parent can give their child everything they want or even everything they need. They are people, individual people, and they have to be able to meet their own needs and rely on themselves.”

Bellamy nodded as Clarke spoke, turning his face to bury it in one of her hands.

“How is it that you’re the same person who told me that kids are just like cats?” he muttered.

“What can I say? I’m wise.” He was quiet for another moment.

“I can’t let her think that she upset me,” Bellamy told Clarke. “She would feel terrible and it’s not her fault.”

Clarke agreed and rubbed his thumb along his cheekbone gently. The pair took some deep breaths.

“Thank you, Clarke,” Bellamy said after a long moment. “For being there for Rory and for keeping me going. I can’t even remember my life before you.”

Clarke leaned in and they rested their foreheads together.

“I can’t imagine a life without you,” Clarke whispered back, her pulse racing.

They breathed together and Clarke focused on the distance between their lips, which had to be down to inches now. All it would take was a small lean in, just a short arch of her neck…

“Mom?” Madi called from her bedroom. “I can’t find my green blanket!”

They slipped apart, the moment gone.

“I should get back to Rory,” Bellamy said. Clarke nodded. He went to leave, but before he could reach the door, Clarke pulled him back for a hug. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. He drew her into him as tightly as he could and locked his arms around her.

Madi called for her mother again and they stepped apart again.

“See you tomorrow,” Clarke said softly. Bellamy nodded and backed toward the door, not breaking eye contact until closing it behind him.

Clarke took a moment and a deep breath before heading into Madi’s room to search for whatever comfort object she had displaced this time.

* * *

Everything and nothing changed after that night. On the surface, the four of them went about their daily routine as usual, but Clarke and Bellamy could tell that something was different between them now. The air was charged when they were around each other. Glances became longer, casual touches and hugs grew more frequent, and more than once Clarke found Bellamy staring at her lips.

One night, Bellamy came home from work and found Clarke and the girls in his apartment. This wasn’t a rare occurrence – they typically switched between apartments depending on what the girls wanted to play with or do that day. Clarke liked the variety and Bellamy often joked that it would be easier to just knock the wall between their apartments down and live in one big space.

He could hear their music from out in the hallway and, when he opened his front door, he couldn’t help the giant grin that broke out across his face.

Clarke, Madi, and Rory were all dancing around the apartment to the _Trolls: World Tour_ soundtrack. Clarke had given the girls some of her old scarves, which they were twirling around and fluttering in different patterns. Clarke caught Bellamy’s eye and smiled at his obvious happiness. Within seconds, the girls had spotted him too and ran for him. He spun them each around in turn.

He crouched down and talked to Madi.

“I have to get a shower because I just had to change a really disgusting clogged oil filter, but do you think you can talk your mom into staying for dinner?” he asked her, conspiratorially.

“I’ll work on it,” Madi responded seriously.

Clarke rolled her eyes at him, but he just grinned back at her.

“Five minutes,” he promised her, “and then I’ll make tacos.”

“Well I can’t say no to that.”

Bellamy showered quickly. He had forgotten to bring clean clothes with him to the bathroom, so he secured his towel around him waist and planned to dash quickly to his room. Both the bathroom and his bedroom were in the back of the apartment, so the girls shouldn’t be anywhere near him. He was still fully covered, but he didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.

Once in the hallway, though, he bumped into Clarke. Her eyes quickly scanned him from head to toe and she immediately turned pink.

Normally, Bellamy would have ignored the obvious temptation to tease her, choosing propriety over flirtation. But this had been such a long time coming, and things were so heavy between them now… he couldn’t help it.

He stole a quick glance to make sure the girls were nowhere to be seen, and he could already hear them out in the kitchen dragging out the taco ingredients.

“I just came back here for some clean kitchen towels,” Clarke explained, gesturing to the linen closet across from the bathroom and refusing to make eye contact.

Bellamy moved forward, backing her against the wall next to the closet door. His left hand came to rest on the wall next to her, while his right opened the closet door and reached in for the towels. She was caged in between his arms and he could hear her breath quicken. He stared into her eyes and she bit her bottom lip.

“Bellamy,” she said quietly. He leaned forward, dragging his nose along her jaw.

“Yes, Princess?” he whispered into her ear. He moved closer, still not touching her, but there was barely any space left between them. He felt a shiver run through Clarke’s body.

Clarke swallowed hard as she looked him in the eye. He read a small trace of fear there, but mostly a burning sense of desire.

His left hand moved from the wall to her hip. She raised her hands to his chest, looking quickly to make sure the girls were still both occupied. Bellamy finally moved closer, pulling her hip until their bodies were pressed together. Clarke let out a small gasp. He knew she could feel what the encounter was doing to him, but judging by the way she pressed herself against him, he was guessing she definitely didn’t mind.

Suddenly, the intensity of the moment caught up to him.

“Tell me you want this,” he whispered desperately in her ear. 

Clarke bit her bottom lip and nodded frantically. “More than anything,” she muttered back.

He traced his lips up her neck to the shell of her ear, taking her lobe into his mouth and sucking gently. She moaned quietly.

Suddenly, a crash from the kitchen made them both spring apart.

“It’s fine!” Rory shouted, but there were another few small crashes and both parents knew their moment was over.

Bellamy pressed the hand towels into Clarke’s hand and they exchanged one more heavy glance before Bellamy retreated to his room to get dressed.

Thirty minutes later, the four of them were sitting at the table feasting on their tacos. Bellamy and Clarke were doing an admirable job of pretending like they hadn’t just almost jumped each other in the hallway and weren’t still thinking about it now.

“How was work?” Rory asked Bellamy.

“Really great,” Bellamy told them. He paused, before announcing “I was promoted to manager today.”

There was a second of silence before they all started shouting.

“Daddy, for real?!” Rory screamed.

“Congratulations!” Madi cried.

“Bellamy, that’s amazing,” Clarke told him.

“It was a long time coming, but it feels really great,” Bellamy told them. “And I thought I’d take you all out for ice cream to celebrate.”

No one could say no to that, so after dinner they walked down the street to the local soft-serve stand and ate their fill of ice cream.

The girls insisted on a sleepover at Rory’s and their parents were basically beyond caring at that point, so they agreed to whatever the girls wanted. Clarke read them a story while Bellamy cleaned up from dinner.

When Clarke joined him in the living room, she looked up at him and grinned.

“Manager! That’s such an honor. And you’ve wanted it for so long.”

“I don’t know if I’d go as far as ‘honor.’ I’m a manager at a local autobody shop.”

“Don’t you dare diminish this,” Clarke ordered him, adding “No wonder you had such a smile on your face when you came home tonight.” After she said it, Bellamy’s grin faltered. His look became more serious and Clarke wondered if she had overstepped.

“Bell, what is it?” she asked cautiously.

Bellamy came to stand in front of her. Deciding that it was now or never, he raised his hands and rested his fingertips on her hips.

“I’m excited about the promotion,” he told her, “but that’s not what had me smiling when I came in the door.” Clarke tipped her head at him, confused. “I was grinning from ear to ear because I walked in and saw you three and the first thought to pop into my mind was just ‘this is my family.’ I saw my daughter, and then I saw my other daughter.” At this, Clarke’s eyes began to well with tears. Bellamy swallowed before continuing. “And then I saw their mother, the woman I am completely, totally, utterly, head-over-heels in love with.”

Clarke choked out a gasp and instantly brought her hands to Bellamy’s neck, pulling him down to kiss her. He responded eagerly, wrapping his hands around the small of her back to press her closer.

His lips were firm and insistent. He brought a hand to the back of Clarke’s neck to adjust the angle and deepen the kiss. She moaned quietly into his mouth, moving her hands down to grip his elbows and pull him closer to her. His tongue slipped past her lips and she met him eagerly.

After a moment, she pulled back, moving her hands to his cheeks to frame his face.

“I love you so much, Bellamy. Stupid amounts. I was starting to lose my mind over it.”

“Same,” Bellamy told her, laughing.

Their lips returned to each other like magnets. Now that Bellamy was kissing her, he couldn’t understand how he had gone so long without kissing her, and he didn’t know how long he could ever go again. His hands skimmed over her back and he gloried in the feeling of finally getting to touch her and hold her as he had always wanted – and as she had always deserved.

“You’re everything to me, Clarke. And I want everything with you.”

“I want everything too. Everything, Bellamy.”

“God, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They wanted nothing more than to fall into bed together that night, but they knew they couldn’t risk the girls catching them or asking questions. They wanted to do this right, and that meant telling the girls before things could go any further. They decided to tell them the next day, separately, so that they could be honest with their reactions and wouldn’t feel pressure to pretend to be okay with it if they weren’t.

That didn’t keep Bellamy and Clakre from making out like teenagers for the next hour, though.

“I’m really leaving this time,” Clarke said for the eighth time, as Bellamy sucked lightly on her neck, right at her pulse point.

“Mmhmm,” he agreed. He was laying on top of her on his couch and made no move to shift any time soon.

She pulled him up for another kiss, finally breaking away after a few minutes.

“Ok, for real, I have to go now,” she told him, but they were both grinning like idiots. Bellamy nodded with a smirk that told her he didn’t believe her for a second. His head dipped back down to her collarbone.

Finally, somehow, Clarke made it back to her apartment to sleep. She had just settled down into bed after changing into her pajamas and washing her face when her phone lit up.

_Bellamy: Come back – I already miss you._

_Clarke: If I come back, I’m never leaving._

_Bellamy: I mean, that’s the plan._

_Clarke: God I love you so much._

_Bellamy: I love you too, Princess._

* * *

The next day, Clarke sat down with Madi after breakfast, knowing Bellamy was doing the same with Rory.

“Hey Madi, can you sit down for a minute? I need to talk to you about something.”

Madi looked concerned, but more curious than actually worried.

“What is it, Mom?”

“You know that Bellamy and I are friends,” Clarke started, nervous about how to broach the subject. Madi nodded, rolling her eyes a little at her mom’s obvious statement. “Well, we’ve also discovered that we have… other feelings for each other.”

Madi stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

“I’m in love with him, Madi. I’m in love with Bellamy. And he’s in love with me too.” Clarke held her breath, waiting to see how her daughter would react. She hoped she would be thrilled, of course, but she was prepared for other reactions: anger, fear, or even disappointment.

She thought she had prepared for every possible reaction, but somehow she had overlooked smug sarcasm.

“Well it’s about time you two figured it out,” Madi told her. She stood up and walked toward their front door.

“Where are you going?” Clarke asked, jumping up to follow her. Madi didn’t answer. She marched out their door and Clarke realized she was going to Bellamy’s apartment. Clarke hurried to catch up to her. Before they could get there, though, Rory burst out of her door and the two girls met in the hallway, with their parents trailing behind.

“Did she tell you?” Rory asked.

“Yup! Did he tell you?” Madi checked.

“Yup!”

The two did some kind of complicated high five, apparently in celebration.

“Ok, this is getting weird,” Clarke announced, ushering everyone out of the hallway and into her apartment. 

“So you two are ok with this?” Bellamy asked.

“Duh,” Madi told him.

“We’ve been hoping you two would figure it out for months now,” Rory added. “We even started requesting the most romantic movies for movie night, just to try to push you along.”

Clarke furrowed her eyebrows, trying to remember what they had picked.

“ _Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty_ , and last week we even watched _Lady and the Tramp!_ ” Madi explained in an exasperated voice.

“Oh no, how could we have missed those clearly obvious signals,” Bellamy said, sarcastic.

“It was all there right in front of us,” Clarke added before sneaking in for a kiss.

“We’re sisters now!” Rory told Madi and the two hugged in delight.

“We’re not getting married,” Clarke told them, adding a nervous “yet” after a moment.

“Yeah, yeah,” Madi dismissed with a wave of her hand. “We know that’s coming.”

Clarke looked at Bellamy and shrugged her shoulders, while he grinned from ear to ear.

She wasn’t wrong.

* * *

Harper had always been a great friend to Clarke, but agreeing to pick up both her daughter and her pseudodaughter at Octavia’s wedding when it was time for them to go to bed and then watching them for the rest of the night so that Clarke could stay at the wedding with Bellamy was pretty over the top. Clarke owed her a really good Christmas present that year.

The wedding itself was beautiful, taking place at a park with a huge pavilion set up for the reception. Bellamy walked Octavia down the aisle and, predictably, shed a few tears on the way. When he stepped back as she joined Lincoln, though, he at least had Clarke beside him to hold his hand and sneak him a tissue from her purse. Rory made a beautiful flower girl and Madi stole her mom’s phone to take at least 100 pictures of her best friend.

The dancing started after dinner, so the girls still got to have a lot of fun before they had to leave. The parents danced with both girls, switching between songs and dancing all four together too when the music felt right. Bellamy couldn’t recall ever being this happy. He was watching his sister dance with the love of her life, whom she had just married and with whom he was confident she would spend the rest of her life. He was currently twirling his daughter and his pseudodaughter, one on each arm, while Clarke giggled and snapped photographs.

He couldn’t wait until Clarke was the one in white.

Later that night, after Harper had picked up the girls, he told her so as he danced with her in his arms.

“Bellamy Blake, are you already talking marriage when we’ve only been out on four dates?” she replied teasingly.

“What’s the point of dates when you know for certain that you want to spend the rest of your life with the other person?” he asked.

“You better be careful, Bell, that sounded awfully close to a proposal.”

“Nah, I’m waiting until Christmas so I can incorporate it into the huge craft project I’m planning for your apartment.” (There was no way he could wait that long and he knew it – he had already started scouting for rings and it was still August.)

Clarke giggled before biting her lower lip and looking at him with a more serious expression.

“My lease is up in October,” she whispered. He felt his pulse quicken.

“Mine is too,” he told her. This wasn’t surprising, as their apartment complex tended to use the same schedule for most of their tenants.

“We probably don’t need two kitchens,” she offered.

“An excellent point.”

“And all four of us are usually in the same apartment every night anyway,” she added. It was true. Their unofficial family had started having “sleepovers” nearly every night, picking one of their apartments to all crash in. It was to the point where the nights when they slept separately felt like the abnormal ones.

“You know you don’t really have to talk me into this,” he told her. “I’d love to move in with you. I want to fall asleep with you every night and wake up every morning with you in my arms. I want our family together under one roof… well within the same walls – you get what I’m saying.”

“I do,” Clarke said with a grin. “Should we start looking on Monday?”

Bellamy nodded with a grin.

“I love you, Clarke,” he whispered as he pulled her tighter. “And I can’t wait to make a home with you.”

“Wherever you are is my home, Bell,” she told him, tucking her nose into the crook of his neck.

**Author's Note:**

> Me: I don’t want to write any kids into The Lighthouse Bunker because my own littles are driving me nuts.  
> Also me: Let’s write a whole one-shot about single parents because this idea won’t leave my head and I have no chill.
> 
> Speaking of kiddos, mine are home now because of the rising Covid numbers in our area, so I don't know how often I'll get to update my other stories. Doing my best!
> 
> One thing that was really important to me when writing this story was to show respect to single parents. Single parents are enough for their children and they don’t need a partner to “fix” them or “save” them. Obviously this is a Bellarke story and was intended to be one from the start, but I hope I made it clear that they end up together because they’re in love with each other, not because they need a co-parent and make each other’s lives easier. I tried to show respect for single parents and their relationships with their children, and I hope that came through.
> 
> Oh, and all parenting complaints peppered in here are legit my own lol.


End file.
